Holy Shit.
So, when you're having a bad day, just consider the day that Hugh Glass had.
This film by Alejandro G. Iñárritu is beautifully and cleverly made. I will not be at all surprised if he wins best director for this piece of work. His cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubizki, shot the whole film with natural light, and several interesting and intricate techniques, including his now familiar long takes (see Birdman, a cinematic technique also known as the plan-séquence) and tight tracking shots of characters.
Best picture territory? Not sure. I have only seen 4 of the 8 nominations so far. I'll make a prediction on that later in February.
The opening scene reminds me of a 1820s version of the Omaha Beach scene from Saving Private Ryan. Relentless, bloody, visceral, which starts in the calm, take you all the way through the carnage and out the other side. And don't be surprised if you forget to breathe in the middle.
And in the spectrum of bear-attach scenes, this one is right up there. It was SO intense, so in-your-face, that it made me wonder about how it was made. Which is too bad, because I was watching to see how it was done, not watching the scene any more.
It's a long haul through the snowy back country, to get from the bear attack to the relative safety of the fort. And walking a long way in the cold has remarkable restorative effects on broken bones and slashed skin. Did it stretch believability? Just a bit.
Recommend? Yes, but be warned.
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